I asked this question a while back and the New Posts were cleared before I got much of an answer. One of my hives is coming up a little light. Thinking this is going to be another strange Spring and Winter not coming to an end for a while, I decided to try using candy to tide the girls over. Since this was my first attempt at making it, I am not sure what the final product should be like. My first attempt came out like a soft Gummy Bear. After a day or two, it dried to a crumbly mix. I think this was due to not getting the mix hot enough. Yesterday I made a batch and took the temperature to almost 260 degrees. The result was a hard block. This was a lot easier to deal with and I laid it directly on top of the frames. Now I'm wondering if it is too hard for them to deal with. I made an extra block and set it out for general feeding and the bees just covered it. So...should the candy be hard or crumbly or what?

"Baker's fondant", as purchased in 50 lb blocks, does not usually contain anything but sugar and corn syrup. Fondant has a consistency similar to modeling clay. The bamboohollow site shows more of a candy board being made.

02-03-2013, 10:49 PM

Vance G

Re: Question on Candy

Just reboil your crumbles hotter and make more hard bricks. The bees use them just fine. When it is warm enough to feed syrup, just add water and reliquify and they are syrup.

02-03-2013, 11:01 PM

tommysnare

Re: Question on Candy

i just made a batch for the first time...a couple weeks ago. and im curious as to how important it is to them in a recipe ? they are eating it but definitely not covering it and going crazy for it. should i re heat as well ? i tried to stick to a formula but i just kind of free handed lets say.

02-04-2013, 06:29 AM

cg3

Re: Question on Candy

My recipe turns out hard as a rock and the bees eat it just fine. Sitting in the hive, it soaks up moisture and softens.